Easy Broiled Whiting Fillets

So having an easy recipe to make some fish with little hassle and little clean-up is my type of meal. All you need is fish fillets, aluminum foil, Pam or similar cooking spray, and Old Bay spice or other spices of choice. I get bags of frozen whiting fillets at the grocery store–they’re usually pretty cheap for what you get, often pre-portioned, and you can keep them in the freezer for a while instead of having fresh fish potentially stink up your fridge. I’m also a fan of salmon and other fish, but I just remember my mom making whiting this way when I was growing up. The longest part of preparation for this recipe is thawing the fish and heating the oven!

Picture coming soon…

Easy Broiled Whiting Fillets

Ingredients:

Whiting fillets (Can be found in your seafood freezer section, or you can buy fresh. You can also choose any type of fish as long as it’s in thin fillets.)
Old Bay spice (or other spices to taste–use your imagination!)
Pam or other cooking spray.

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to the Broil setting.

Thaw fish if necessary. Pat dry.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Spray foil on cookie sheet with Pam.

Lay fish on foil…if it’s skin-on, lay it skin side up. (If it has skin, broil it plain for 3 minutes, then try to remove the skin, then sprinkle with Old Bay and continue cooking/flipping until it’s done.)

Sprinkle on Old Bay to taste.

Broil for 3 minutes.

Flip fish, sprinkle on more Old Bay if you’d like, broil for another 2-3 minutes.

Flip fish again, broil for another 1-2 minutes.

Aili’s notes:
The other night after raid, Ktok went to get fast food and I made this, steamed some broccoli, and sliced up a mango. Even with thawing the fish, I was eating just after he got home.

You can play with the spices you use. I remember my mom doing everything from using a little butter and dill on the fish, to chopping onion, mixing it with a little butter and lemon juice, and placing that on top of the fish at the third broiling stage (the 1-2 minutes). Serve it with whatever you fancy…a fruit salsa could be really good with this. You can do the same with whiting as I posted for tilapia.

Serve with veggies and fruit. You CAN serve it with a starchy side, but I always associate this with a summer dish and we usually had it with green veggies and peaches. If you’ve ever had a white-on-white-on-white meal (like fish, cauliflower, and mashed potatoes) you’ll know why I tend to look for colorful sides to go with this.

I am not a huge fan of fish, but I’m trying to eat more of it as I know it’s very healthy and I get sick of chicken pretty quickly :) I’ve never heard of Whiting… does it have a very strong fishy flavour/smell? I’ve been able to get into tilapia and even some salmon, but I still HATE tuna!

Your mileage might vary, as most fishy-smelling fish don’t bother me. But I think of it as being on par with tilapia or cod. The flavor is delicate and really picks up any flavor you put with it.

Part of the reason I like it broiled is because the edges can get a little crispy, and then it practically melts in your mouth. And I believe you can do recipes with any white fish like this, I just remember my mom using whiting when I was growing up, and I believe she did because it’s pretty cheap. =)

And to be honest? I’m generally not a tuna fan myself. I love white tuna when it comes to sushi, and grilling tuna steaks is okay, but I don’t like canned tuna that much at all.

So maybe this will be something you like so you can avoid tuna altogether!

Tilapia should be just fine! The main thing is that the fish shouldn’t be too thick, so fillets are better than steaks. I remember my dad said sea bass can get mushy real easy, so I’d probably avoid that too just to be safe. I hate mushy fish, which is probably why I like it cooked this way!

Well, a little research and I figured out where my trouble was in trying this recipe. We don’t have whiting in Canada – apparently it’s very similar to Alaskan pollock though. We also don’t have Old Bay seasoning, although I’ve read it can can be found in some specialty seafood stores.

Anyway I found some seafood seasoning that’s quite similar and I got some tilapia and used your method… and it was quite tasty :)

I’m sorry to hear you had trouble finding these items, but glad you were able to find some tasty substitutes! Fish can run the gamut from really good to really bad, and I’m glad this worked out for you!